Paddle ball game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A rectangular open frame has its longitudinal sides closed and ends enclosed by sheet material to form a paddle ball court having a goal at its respective ends. Manually operated paddle member is laterally and vertically movably supported in a vertical plane by rod and pulley structure at the respective ends of the frame.

[ Dec. 16, 1975 Unite tates [1 1 Jacques PADDLE BALL GAME APPARATUS 954,769 6/1949 273/85 F 27 R [76] Inventor: Paul E. Jacques, 215 East St., North 325 134 12/1957 Swnzerland 3/85 Attleboro, Mass. 02760 Jan. 20, 1975 Primary ExaminerRichard J. Apley Assistant ExaminerI-Iarry G. Strappello [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.: 542,536

Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert K. Rhea [52] US. 273/85 F; 273/95 H; 273/101 [51] Int. Cl.'....

ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search :5778/998T29A, 273/85 D, 85 F, 95 R, 95 H A rectangular open frame has its longitudinal sides closed and ends enclosed by sheet material to form a paddle ball court having a goal at its respective ends.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,404,149 l/l922 Sh0rt............

1,556,046 10/1925 Tayl0r..............

2,823,034 2/1958 Bingham, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 26,829 11/1914 United Kingdom............... 273/29 R 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures atent Dec. 16, 1975 PADDLE BALL GAME APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to ball game apparatus and more particularly to a partially closed open frame having paddle means supported in a vertical plane by its respective goal forming end members to define a paddle ball court.

2. Description of the Prior Art Game apparatus, as shown by prior patents, has usually comprised gameboards and the like which are supported by a table for amusement and developing skill in operating miniature game components.

This invention provides a paddle ball game apparatus including a partially enclosed open frame which includes goal areas at each end thereof and a manually operated paddle means supported by the respective end members of the frame forming the game court.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A rectangular open framework, defining a goal line at its respective ends, has the sides thereof closed by sheet material and the respective ends surrounded by similar sheet material for stopping a paddle ball when projected over the goal line. Manually operated paddle means is supported in a vertical plane by a pair of strands connected with pulleys in turn supported by rods transversely extending across the respective ends of the frame permitting lateral and vertical movement of the paddle means.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a paddle ball game court for two players in which the paddle means is vertically and laterally movable but remains within the plane of the goal line at the respective ends of the paddle ball court.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game apparatus with parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view, to a larger scale, taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1 omitting the frame enclosure sheet material and illustrating, by dotted lines, movement of the paddle means;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, to a further enlarged scale, of the paddle means illustrating, by dotted lines, movement of the paddle;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, to another scale, of the game court divider; and,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, to a different scale, of the pulley means in operative position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral indicates the apparatus, as a whole, comprising a game court 12 having paddle means 14 at its respective end portions. The court 12 is formed by an open frame including opposing pairs of upper and lower longitudinal side members 16 and 18, respectively, arranged in vertically spaced parallel relation and supported, at their respective ends, by vertical corner posts 20 and 22. The posts 20 and 22 are respectively interconnected by upper and lower frame trans verse end members 26 and 2.8. The vertical plane, formed by the interconnected comer posts 20 and 22 and end members 26 and 28, defines goals through which the playersattempt to drive a ball 30. The frame open area between the respective side members 16-, 18 and respective posts 20, 22 is closed by sheet material, such as woven mesh or strand material 32. Obviously, imperforate material, such as plastic, may be used, if desired. A-section of the sheet material is connected at its respective ends to each frame post 20 and 22 and arcuately bowed outwardly to form an enclosure 34 at each end of the court to surround each player, not shown, and contain the ball. when it passes across the goal line.

The paddle means 14 is supported by a horizontal lower rod 36 connected at its respective ends with the depending end portion of the respective pair of posts 20 and 22 adjacent the respective frame end member 28. An upper rod 38 similarly extends transversely between the upper end portions of the respective pair of posts 20 and 22 and is vertically adjustably connected at its respective ends by eye bolts 40 to the respective end portions of the respective frame upper end member 26..

The paddle means 14 comprises a rectangular longitudinally vertically disposed planar paddle support panel 42 having a coextensive opening 44 adjacent its respective longitudinal side edge which slidably receives an elongated flexible strand 46 also entrained through the eyes 47 of two pairs of blocks 48. The blocks of each pair of blocks are cooperatively spacedapart with respect to the spacing between the panel openings 44 and are secured in this position by plates 49 (FIG. 5). Each block 48 includes a pulley 50 riding on the lower and upper rods 36 and 38, respectively, by the respective ends of the strand being drawn together and tautly tied, as at 51, to form an endless-type tension equalizing strand slidable through the panel openings 44 and eyes of the blocks 48, permitting lateral movement of the paddle, pairs of blocks and strand, as a unit, between the end limits of the rods 36 and 38. The paddle means further includes a bridge 54 secured to the surface of the panel 42 projecting toward the respective goal. The bridge comprises a pair of horizontal parallel arms 56 interconnected, at their end portions opposite the panel 42, by a horizontal bar 58 to form a fulcrum for a generally vertically disposed paddle 60 transversely contacting the bar 58 intermediate the ends of the paddle. The upper end of the paddle 60 is pivotally connected with a shaft 62 extending horizontally through the panel 42 medially its upper end portion. The shaft 62 is pivotally connected with the upper end of a depending handle 64 pivotally connected at its depending end with a standard 66 projecting horizontally outward from the depending end of the panel 42 opposite the paddle 60. The paddle 60 is connected with the adjacent surface of the panel 42 by a pair of resilient members, such as springs 68, normally biasing the depending end portion of the paddle toward the depending end portion of the panel 42.

OPERATION In operation, two players are within the respective end enclosure 34 with one hand grasping the paddle operating handle 64. Manual movement of the upper end portion of the handle away from the panel 42, to the dotted line position of FIG. 3, pivots the paddle 60 3 in a vertical movement about the axis of its fulcrum bar 58 to contact and propel the ball 30 toward the opposite goal. Each player may move his paddle means 14 laterally or vertically to a desired position within the plane of the goal he is defending and attempts to strike the ball 30 with the paddle 60 and return it toward the opposite goal. In addition to the lateral and vertical movement of the paddle means, shown in FIG. 2, the tautness of the strand 46 is preferably such that the paddle support panel 42 may be twisted or turned slightly about its vertical axis to cut the ball toward one or the other of the lateral limits of the goal to avoid ball return action by the other player. The single strand 46, being slidable through the block eyes 47, compensates for any irregularity of the spacing between the frame end member 26 and top rod 38 as a result of moving the latter to adjust the tautness of the strand 46.

The partition, shown by P16. 4, is used for transversely dividing the court, intermediate its ends for a single player to practice and perfect his skill in operating the paddle means 14 by driving the ball toward the panel 70 which, when struck by the ball, returns it toward the player. Obviously, the panel 70 may be tilted slightly with respect to the vertical to achieve a desired rebound of the ball 30.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations without defeating its practicability. Therefore, I do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein.

I claim:

1. A paddle ball game apparatus, comprising:

a three dimensional open frame defined by a pair of vertically upstanding and spaced apart parallel side members and a pair of vertically upstanding and spaced apart parallel end members;

means enclosing each of said side members and each of said end members, respectively, to define a paddle ball game court having a goal at each end located behind the said end members;

a game ball; and,

a paddle means supported by said and members in front of each said goals for striking said ball, each of said paddle means being mounted for selective reciprocative movement vertically and for selective reciprocative movement horizontally within the vertical plane defined by each of said end members.

2. The game apparatus according to claim 1 in which said frame end members include:

a pair of corner posts;

horizontal upper and lower cross members extending between and connected with said posts;

a lower support rod extending horizontally between and connected with said posts adjacent said lower cross member;

an upper support rod extending horizontally between said posts adjacent said upper cross member; and,

bolt means connecting the end portions of said upper support rod to the respective end portion of said upper cross member.

3. The game apparatus according to claim 2 in which said paddle means includes:

an upright paddle support panel having a coextensive vertical opening adjacent its respective lateral limit;

a strand extending through each of the panel openings permitting vertical movement of said support panel relative to said strand;

pulley means connecting said strand to said upper and said lower support rod, respectively;

a paddle; and,

handle means pivotally connecting said paddle with said paddle support panel,

4. The game apparatus according to claim 3 in which said handle means includes:

bridge means transversely connected to one surface of said support panel intermediate its ends and forming a fulcrum for said paddle;

a standard horizontally secured at one end to one end portion of said support panel opposite said bridge;

a shaft pivotally connected with one end portion of said paddle and longitudinally slidably projecting through the end portion of said support panel opposite said standard;

a handle pivotally connected at its respective ends with said standard and the other end portion of said shaft; and,

a resilient member connecting the other end portion of said paddle with the end portion of said support panel opposite said bridge.

5. The game apparatus according to claim 4 in which said enclosing means includes:

sheet material forming vertical frame side panels and arcuate player and game ball enclosures, respectively. 

1. A paddle ball game apparatus, comprising: a three dimensional open frame defined by a pair of vertically upstanding and spaced apart parallel side members and a pair of vertically upstanding and spaced apart parallel end members; means enclosing each of said side members and each of said end members, respectively, to define a paddle ball game court having a goal at each end located behind the said end members; a game ball; and, a paddle means supported by said end members in front of each said goals for striking said ball, each of said paddle means being mounted for selective reciprocative movement vertically and for selective reciprocative movement horizontally within the vertical plane defined by each of said end members.
 2. The game apparatus according to claim 1 in which said frame end members include: a pair of corner posts; horizontal upper and lower cross members extending between and connected with said posts; a lower support rod extending horizontally between and connected with said posts adjacent said lower cross member; an upper support rod extending horizontally between said posts adjacent said upper cross member; and, bolt means connecting the end portions of said upper support rod to the respective end portion of said upper cross member.
 3. The game apparatus according to claim 2 in which said paddle means includes: an upright paddle support panel having a coextensive vertical opening adjacent its respective lateral limit; a strand extending through each of the panel openings permitting vertical movement of said support panel relative to said strand; pulley means connecting said strand to said upper and said lower support rod, respectively; a paddle; and, handle means pivotally connecting said paddle with said paddle support panel.
 4. The game apparatus according to claim 3 in which said handle means includes: bridge means transversely connected to one surface of said support panel intermediate its ends and forming a fulcrum for said paddle; a standard horizontally secured at one end to one end portion of said support panel opposite said bridge; a shaft pivotally connected with one end portion of said paddle and longitudinally slidably projecting through the end portion of said support panel opposite said standard; a handle pivotally connected at its respective ends with said standard and the other end portion of said shaft; and, a resilient member connecting the other end portion of said paddle with the end portion of said support panel opposite said bridge.
 5. The game apparatus according to claim 4 in which said enclosing means includes: sheet material forming vertical frame side panels and arcuate player and game ball enclosures, respectively. 